Japan Press Weekly

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2012 October 17 - 23 [GREAT EAST JAPAN DISASTER]

Examples of diversion of post-disaster recovery funds

The Agriculture, Forestry and Fishery Ministry diverted 2.3 billion yen in post-disaster recovery funds to a project to strengthen countermeasures against the Greenpeace vessel Sea Sepherd, an international non-profit organization which interrupts Japan’s research whaling in the Antarctic through direct action.

Using various excuses, central ministries diverted public funds allocated from the FY 2011 budget for the recovery of 3.11 disaster-stricken regions to other projects which have no connection with the recovery.

The Internal Affair Ministry allocated 800 million yen for a project to improve capability to provide information worldwide. The ministry explained that the project aims to transfer information about the current status of disaster-affected regions to the world through TV programs and that the project is useful to publicize the region’s recovery and clean up harmful image about the region.

The ministry contracted out the project to Japan’s major advertising agency, Dentsu, for 770 million yen.

The Japan Tourism Agency’s post-disaster recovery budget included 1.4 billion yen for a project seeking swift recovery of the number of foreign tourists to Japan which showed a drastic drop after the 3.11 disaster.

The 1.4 billion yen-project spent 800 million yen to place information signs for foreign tourists at Japan’s major tourist spots. The signs were posted at 26 spots across Japan. Of them, only 3 spots are located in the disaster-affected regions.

To provide funds for the post-disaster reconstruction, the general public will have to pay higher income taxes over the next 25 years.